1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image output method for outputting an image and an apparatus therefor.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, computers are mutually connected through LAN (local area networks), and LAN connection has become possible not only for printers but also for other various peripherals such as multi-function image processing apparatus provided with copying and faxing functions.
The LAN (local area network) employed as the connection system for example in a floor enables common use of connected devices and mutual data transfer for a user group, and there is also known a WAN (wide area network) by mutually connecting plural LAN""s in geographically distant locations through an integrated services digital network (ISDN) channel or a public telephone channel.
Each LAN is usually composed of a group of computers including a file server and a print server, and a network operating system loaded in each computer supports various protocols for transfer and common use of data and files, common use of the printer etc.
Also a print job transferred from an application functioning on each computer can generally be transferred, through a print server, to a printer connected to the network.
Also the communication protocols for remote management of equipment, including various devices constituting the network and computers connected on the network have become standardized, as exemplified by the SNMP (simple network management protocol). With the network equipment loaded with such protocol, the various devices can be managed from a distant location on the network, through the network management software. In case of a printer, there can be executed acquisition of the printer information, monitoring of the printer status, notice of the change in the printer status, control of the initialization etc.
The user applications functioning on the computer constituting the LAN include a document preparation software, a table calculation software etc. The data prepared with such applications are usually converted by a printer driver software as a function of the operating system into PDL (printer description language) data which are a printer control language, then temporarily stored as a print job in the print spooler and transferred to the printer.
The print job is a unit generated by the printer driver software as PDL (printer description language) from one or plural text files and constituting a printed document, and is usually separated by a job start command and a job end command. If the print data do not have a clear separation, the printer may independently define the start and end of the job.
As the image output apparatus connected in such network environment is used by plural users (client computers), the printed output data are mixedly stacked in the paper ejection port in the order of output of the print jobs.
For this reason the image output apparatus can have plural paper ejection ports and each user can select a particular paper ejection port for example by the printer driver, whereby the printed papers can be stacked without mixing with the print jobs instructed by other users.
It is also conceivable to provide the image output apparatus with an automatic ejection port selecting mode for searching the ejection ports available on the apparatus and automatically determining the paper ejection port, thereby automatically switching the paper ejection port.
Furthermore, the image output apparatus may be equipped with a function (hereinafter called mailbox function) in which a name is assigned one-to-one to each of the ejection ports provided in the apparatus and the user selects the name of the paper ejection port by the printer driver, whereby the paper ejection port to be used for the output can be selected for each user.
The above-described conventional configuration is however associated with a drawback that, even if the user selects a specified paper ejection port or the name thereof for example by the printer driver, other users can still select the same paper ejection port so that the print jobs of different users may eventually be mixed in the specified paper ejection port.
Also the automatic paper ejection port selecting mode for searching the available ejection ports and automatically determining the paper ejection port is incapable of preventing the mixed presence of the output jobs, since such mode is designed to output a large number of output jobs through plural paper ejection ports without errors.
Furthermore, in case of an error caused by a preceding user, such as an overstacking of papers in the ejection port, the output process is interrupted by such error and there is also interrupted the output process of the print jobs of other succeeding users who have designated the same ejection port.
On the other hand, in assigning names to the ejection ports in the mailbox function, it is possible to avoid the mixing by assigning the names of the user as the names of the ejection ports and causing each user to select the ejection port to which his name has been assigned.
In the mailbox function, however, such method is effective in case the image output apparatus is utilized by the users of which number does not exceed the number of the ejection ports provided in the apparatus, the registerable number of user names is limited even if the apparatus is to be utilized by the users of which number exceeds the number of the ejection ports. Consequently, in case a user whose name has not been registered as the name of the ejection port is going to utilize the apparatus, it is necessary to renew the user name by calling the operator or to provide an ejection port for the users who cannot utilize the mailbox function. For this reason, the mailbox function cannot be fully exploited in a large-scale network environment in which the number of the user exceeds that of the ejection ports.
Furthermore, in an image output apparatus capable of connecting plural paper ejecting optional devices, it is not possible to sequentially manage or designate the paper ejecting bins of each optional device.
Furthermore, in case plural printers are connected to the network, the user is required to select and designate an optimum paper ejection port according to the selected printer.
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described drawbacks of the prior art. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image output method and an apparatus therefor, allowing each of plural users to automatically execute exclusive control without paying attention to the paper ejection ports used by other users, thereby preventing mixed presence of the print jobs at any specified paper ejection port.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an image output method and an apparatus therefor, allowing to assign the paper ejection ports to N users without relaying on the number of the ejection ports provided on the apparatus, thereby preventing mixed presence of the print jobs at any specified paper ejection port.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an image output method and an apparatus therefor, allowing plural users to automatically execute exclusive control by detecting a failure at the paper ejection port caused by another user, thereby enabling output of the print job without interruption.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an image output method and an apparatus therefor, effecting selection of the paper ejection port for the print job at the timing of output to the apparatus, thereby preventing mixed presence of the print jobs in case the paper ejection ports of a limited number are used by N users, and also realizing the mailbox function for each of the N users.
The above-mentioned objects can be attained, according to the present invention, by an image output method for outputting an image from an image output apparatus provided with plural paper ejection ports, comprising a virtual ejection port assigning step of assigning a virtual ejection port to N virtual ejection ports (N being a natural number at least equal to 2), a virtual ejection port selecting step of selecting the virtual ejection port assigned by the virtual ejection port assigning step, and an ejection port selection control step of determining the ejection port of the apparatus for output by forming correspondence between the virtual ejection ports and the ejection ports of the apparatus in response to the entry of a print job designated for output to the virtual ejection port.
According to the present invention there is also provided an image output method further comprising a stacking detection step of detecting the stacking state of the ejection ports of the apparatus, wherein the above-mentioned ejection port selection control step is adapted to preferentially select an empty ejection port of the apparatus, detected by the stacking detection step, for the output.
The above-mentioned objects can also be attained, according to the present invention, by an image output method for outputting an image from an image output apparatus provided with plural paper ejection ports, comprising a name assigning step of assigning a name to N virtual ejection ports, a virtual ejection port selecting step of selecting a virtual ejection port by comparison of the name assigned by the name assigning step with an entered name, and an ejection port selection control step of forming correspondence between an entered name of the virtual ejection port and the ejection port of the apparatus thereby determining the ejection port of the apparatus for output.
According to the present invention there is also provided an image output method further comprising a name detecting step of detecting the name of an ejection port which is already used for output and is in the course of stacking, wherein the above-mentioned ejection port selection control step is adapted to compare the name detected by the name detecting step with a newly entered name thereby selecting an ejection port of the apparatus for output.
The above-mentioned objects can also be attained, according to the present invention, by an image output apparatus provided with plural paper ejection ports, comprising virtual ejection port assigning means for assigning virtual ejection ports to N virtual ejection ports, virtual ejection port selecting means for selecting the virtual ejection ports assigned by the virtual ejection port assigning means, and ejection port selection control means for determining the ejection port of the apparatus for output by forming correspondence between the virtual ejection ports and the ejection ports of the apparatus in response to the entry of a print job designated for output to the virtual ejection port.
According to the present invention there is also provided an image output apparatus further comprising stacking detection means for detecting the stacking state of the ejection ports of the apparatus, wherein the above-mentioned ejection port selection control means is adapted to preferentially select an empty ejection port of the apparatus, detected by the stacking detection means, for the output.
The above-mentioned objects can also be attained, according to the present invention, by an image output apparatus provided with plural paper ejection ports, comprising name assigning means for assigning names to N virtual ejection ports, virtual ejection port selecting means for selecting a virtual ejection port by comparison of the names assigned by the name assigning means with an entered name, and ejection port selection control means for forming correspondence between an entered name of the virtual ejection port and the ejection port of the apparatus thereby determining the ejection port of the apparatus for output.
According to the present invention there is also provided an image output apparatus further comprising name detecting means for detecting the name of an ejection port which is already used for output and is in the course of stacking, wherein the above-mentioned ejection port selection control means is adapted to compare the name detected by the name detecting means with a newly entered name thereby selecting an ejection port of the apparatus for output.